Reports
Discussion Papers
No.339 Assessing agglomeration economies in the Yangtze River Delta, China: A Bayesian spatial Durbin model approach
by HASHIGUCHI Yoshihiro and Kuang-hui CHEN
Revised October 22, 2012
ABSTRACT
This paper estimates the elasticity of labor productivity with respect to employment density, a widely used measure of the agglomeration effect, in the Yangtze River Delta, China. A spatial Durbin model is presented that makes explicit the influences of spatial dependence and endogeneity bias in a very simple way. Results of Bayesian estimation using the data of the year 2009 indicate that the productivity is influenced by factors correlated with density rather than density itself and that spatial spillovers of these factors of agglomeration play a significant role. They are consistent with the findings of Ke (2010) and Artis, et al. (2011) that suggest the importance of taking into account spatial dependence and hitherto omitted variables.
Keywords: agglomeration economies, endogeneity, omitted variables, Bayesian, spatial Durbin model
JEL classification: C21, C51, R10, R15
Please note that discussion papers are works in various stages of progress and most have not been edited and proofread and may contain errors of fact or judgment. Revised versions of these papers may subsequently appear in more formal publication series. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). The IDE does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included and accepts no responsibility for any consequences arising from its use.